Lic. John R. Gagain Jr.

Executive Director of the Presidential Commission on the Millennium Development Goals and Sustainable Development

Lic. John R. Gagain Jr. participated in World Leaders Forum
Head of State Week in September 2008.

Lic. John R. Gagain Jr. was named by Dr. Leonel
Fernández, president of the Dominican Republic, as the executive director of
the Presidential Commission on the Millennium Development Goals and Sustainable
Development (COPDES) on September 16, 2004. The COPDES is the first
presidential commission ever established for monitoring and evaluating a
country's achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

Before COPDES, Mr. Gagain served as director of the Center
for the Study of Globalization and representative to international
organizations at the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development, an
international research-based nongovernmental organization founded by Dr. Leonel
Fernández and based in the Dominican Republic. Mr. Gagain was responsible for
the foundation's projects, courses, and literature on globalization, as well as
its relations with institutions including the United Nations, the World Bank,
the International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organization.

Additionally, Mr. Gagain was the executive vice-president of
the United Nations Association of the Dominican Republic, one of over 100 U.N.
associations that exist in countries around the world and form the World
Federation of U.N. Associations. Mr. Gagain was responsible for the
administration of the association's finances and development. Mr. Gagain was
the coordinator of Model United Nations at the United Nations Association of
the USA, where he was editor of the association's educational publications,
including the annual Guide to Delegate
Preparation.

Mr. Gagain attended the Columbia University School of
International and Public Affairs, where he focused on international economic
policy with a concentration in international trade and Latin American studies.
He has written recommendations on U.S. foreign economic policy for Ambassador
Richard Gardner, former economic adviser to Al Gore and member of the Clinton
Administration's Advisory Council on Trade Policy and Negotiations.

Additionally, Mr. Gagain is a
consultant with the International Institute for Sustainable Development,
serving as a writer for the Earth
Negotiations Bulletin. He also serves as a member of the U.N. Global
Compact's International Task Force on Networks. Mr. Gagain served as youth
delegate adviser for the U.S. Delegation to the World Conference against
Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance. He
graduated from Pace University, where he majored in political science and
concentrated in international affairs.